European Union top officials and business leaders discussed the prospect of a more hostile trade policy ahead of a summit in Beijing unless China opened its market to European firms and stopped what they perceived as economic bullying, the SCMP reported.
Despite a number of high-level European visits to China in recent months, there is growing frustration among policymakers over Beijing’s hard-line stance and unwilling to concede on any substantive issues.
While Chinese officials point to the positive character of relations with their European counterparts, Brussels officials expect gloomy news at the EU-China summit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed Monday that the event will take place “in a couple of weeks.”
We must also be clear-eyed on how China’s global posture is changing. We see a strong push to make China less dependent on the world, and the world more dependent on China. Geopolitics and geoeconomics cannot be seen as separate anymore.
While China strongly rejected the idea of Europe as a rival, von der Leyen warned EU ambassadors in Brussels to admit “an explicit element of rivalry in our relationship.”
“The Chinese Communist Party’s clear goal is a systemic change of the international order, of course with China at its centre. We have seen it with China’s positions in multilateral bodies, which show its determination to promote an alternative vision of the world order.”
Von der Leyen criticised Beijing for backing Moscow, accusing it of fuelling tensions in other parts of the world.
China states that it is impartial and favours peaceful solutions, while enabling and supporting some of the world’s most destabilising forces.
Speaking at the same event, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell raised the issue of a trade war with Beijing, criticising the “abysmal trade deficit” and warning that it “will be difficult for China to maintain its access to the European market at a time when European companies are finding it increasingly difficult to work in China.”
“If China continues to deny the reality and consequences of this imbalance, it runs the risk of seeing a rising demand in Europe for more protection. We are not protectionist, but maybe we have to protect ourselves. If China does not open, maybe we will have to close.”
The EU has launched an investigation into subsidies in China’s electric car sector, which would ensure that the EU could impose large countervailing duties on electric vehicle imports, with some individuals in Brussels seeking further investigations into medical devices and wind turbines.
Jens Eskelund, President of the EU Commerce Chamber in China, stated:
It’s a little bit ironic that China expresses concerns about the European discussion on de-risking, because China has been de-risking for the past decade (…) I’m afraid that sparks will fly in 2024 and that’s the reason we say we need to talk about it now, before things get out of hand.
Survey data released this week revealed concerns among European businesses operating in China. The European Central Bank surveyed 65 EU multinationals and found that risk mitigation strategies dominated their plans for the next five years. Nearly two-thirds stated that dependence on China posed a significant supply chain risk.
Among companies sourcing from China, 42 per cent claimed they would start looking for suppliers closer to their homes. However, some 94 per cent of respondents noted it would be “hard” or “very hard” to find substitutes for their products.
